DDB BLOG now available, click here!

CASES OF NOTE: McKinnie v. Barnhart, 368 F.3d 907 (7th Cir. 2004), Young v. Barnhart, 362 F.3d 995, 1003 (7th Cir. 2004) and Diaz v. Prudential, No. 04-2342 (7th Cir. September 20, 2005). Click here for discussion and links to decisions. 

U.S. SUPREME COURT REVIEW

Daley, DeBofsky & Bryant most recently sought Supreme Court review of the decision in Jewell v. Life Insurance Company of North America, but cert was denied on June 2, 2008.  For discussion of previous attempts to seek Supreme Court review by DDB, click here. 

Item of Interest: Milliman, Inc.'s Impact of Disability Insurance Policy Mandates Proposed by the California Department of Insurance dated 11/14/2005. 

ARTICLES & RECENT COURT DECISIONS:

The following article by Mark DeBofsky appeared in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's Workplace Issues section on August 18, 2008: Judge sees importance of discovery ruling. Click on the link to read the article.  posted 8/19/2008

Wilson v. Astrue, No. 08-cv-10286 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 18, 2008).  The government declined to brief the case, but instead agreed to a voluntary remand.  This occurred after the case had been briefed for district court by Daley, DeBofsky and Bryant.  Mr. Wilson was represented by Frederick J. Daley, Jr. with assistance from Marcie E. Goldbloom and Kate Hoppe. posted 8/19/2008

Hart v. Astrue, No. 08-C-0007 (W.D. Wisc. Aug. 11, 2008).  The Court issued a remand in this case because the ALJ made a conclusory credibility finding that fails to follow SSR 96-7p and properly consider all of the evidence, and took an overly simplistic view of the treating opinions, failing to properly consider their statements.  The Court complained that ALJ Schneider's decisions continually fail to be well-reasoned.  Ms. Hart was represented by Frederick J. Daley, Jr. with assistance from Suzanne Blaz. posted 8/13/2008

The following article by Mark DeBofsky appeared in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's Workplace Issues section on August 4, 2008: Ruling underscores value of treating doctor's opinion. Click on the link to read the article.  posted 8/4/2008

Smith v. Astrue, No. 07-C-588 (N.D. Ind. July 29, 2008).  The Court issued a remand in this case because the ALJ failed to properly specify the reasons for his credibility determination, failed to consider all of the relevant evidence and did not trace a path from the evidence to his conclusions resulting in an erroneous RFC and hypotheticals, thus, resulting in erroneous VE testimony. Mr. Smith was represented by Frederick J. Daley, Jr. with assistance from Kim Jones. posted 7/31/2008

The following article by Mark DeBofsky appeared in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's Workplace Issues section on July 21, 2008: Bankruptcy Omission Led to Estoppel. Click on the link to read the article.  posted 7/23/2008

Adams v. Astrue, No. 07-cv-2201 (C.D. IL July 17, 2008).  The government declined to brief the case, but instead agreed to a voluntary remand.  This occurred after the case had been briefed for district court by Daley, DeBofsky and Bryant.  Mr. Adams was represented by Frederick J. Daley, Jr. with assistance from law clerk Suzanne Blaz. posted 7/23/2008

Gardner v. Astrue, No. 07-C-5083 (N.D. Ill. July 15, 2008).  The Court issued a remand in this case because the ALJ's hypotheticals to the VE were flawed. Mr. Gardner was represented by Frederick J. Daley, Jr. with assistance from Kate Hoppe and Suzanne Blaz. posted 7/16/2008

The following article by Mark DeBofsky appeared in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's Workplace Issues section on June 23, 2008: Ruling means end for lenient regime of reviews. Click on the link to read the article.  posted 6/24/2008

Raflik v. Astrue, No. 07-C-854 (E.D.Wisc. June 17, 2008).  The Court issued a remand in this case because the ALJ failed to inquire as to whether the VE's testimony conflicted with the DOT. Ms. Raflik was represented by Frederick J. Daley, Jr. with assistance from Suzanne Blaz. posted 6/24/2008

PRESENTATIONS:  

On September 25, 2008, from 2 to 5 p.m., Mark DeBofsky will be speaking on a panel about Supreme Court ERISA Litigaiton Issues.  The panel is presented by The John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits and will be held at the John Marshall Law School in Room 200. 

Mark DeBofsky will be speaking at the 39th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law at a workshop called "Detection of Malingering Disability Evaluations" on October 25, 2008, at 2:15 p.m.  The meeting is being held at the Westin in Seattle, Washington from October 23 -26, 2008.  For more information, click here. 

Mark DeBofsky will be speaking at the ABA ERISA Litigation conference to be held November 6-7, 2008, in Chicago, Illinois.  He will be presenting the Plaintiff's side in a seminar called, "Special Topics in Welfare Litigation" on Friday at 9:30 a.m.  For more information, click here. 

                                                                                  MORE NEWS